Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures the Scottish Ambulance Service takes with regard to the safety of ambulance crews, particularly in relation to single-crewed ambulances, and whether such measures offer protection for the safety of staff in single-crewed ambulances, in particular female staff.

Mr Andy Kerr: Frontline ambulance staff are issued with personal protection equipment and receive training relevant to their operational requirements in various health and safety subjects from manual lifting and handling to managing information. In relation to single-crewed working, the ambulance service’s lone working policy is currently under review. The policy details the processes through which the service will ensure, as far as is reasonably practical, a safe working environment for operational ambulance staff, officers and management who are required to work alone.

Arts

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have applied for the post of chair of the Scottish Arts Council and when the successful candidate will be announced.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: With the agreement of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland, the Scottish Executive extended the closing date for applications for the post of Chair of the Scottish Arts Council until 1 November 2004. We will make an announcement on the new chair as soon as possible after the closing date.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Human Rights Commission in Scotland proposed in the spending plans in the Justice section of Building a Better Scotland Spending Proposals 2005-2008 will have jurisdiction over conditions in Dungavel House immigration removal centre.

Hugh Henry: The proposals for establishment of a Scottish Human Rights Commission which were published by the Scottish Executive in 2003 confirmed that the commission will be a devolved body, and that it would therefore not deal with those issues which are reserved to the UK Parliament and UK ministers. The exact nature of the commission’s devolved responsibilities will be defined in the legislation establishing the commission.

Civil Servants

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many UK fast-stream civil servants have joined the Scottish civil service in each year since 1999; whether it has any plans to adopt an equivalent scheme of its own and, if so, what this scheme will be.

Mr Tom McCabe: The number of UK fast stream civil servants that have joined the Executive since 1999 are detailed as follows:

  

1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


15
13
11
20
10
8



  The Executive has no plans at this time to adopt an equivalent scheme of its own. I can confirm that it is our intention to continue to participate in the recognised UK-wide Civil Service Fast Stream Programme.

Civil Servants

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10766 by Mr Andy Kerr on 1 October 2004, whether it will provide a breakdown of all transfers and loans by grade and specify whether such transfers and loans were to or from a UK department located within or outwith Scotland.

Mr Tom McCabe: The following tables show the breakdown of loans by grade and whether the loans were to (Table (a)) or from (Table (b)) a UK department located within Scotland or elsewhere. Tables (c) and (d) show information on the grade of staff who have transferred inwards or outwards respectively from the Scottish Executive. Information on the location of departments to which staff have transferred is not held centrally.

  Number of Civil Servants Who Have Moved Between the Scottish Executive and Other Government Departments Since January 1999 to August 2004

  Table (a) Inward Loans

  

 
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


Total Number of Staff
4
3
4
5
9
4


C3
0
0
0
0
1
0


Elsewhere
0
0
0
0
1
0


C2
0
0
1
0
1
0


Within Scotland
0
0
1
0
0
0


Elsewhere
0
0
0
0
1
0


C1
2
2
1
1
1
0


Within Scotland
0
0
0
1
0
0


Elsewhere
2
2
1
0
1
0


B3
1
0
0
0
1
0


Within Scotland
1
0
0
0
0
0


Elsewhere
0
0
0
0
1
0


B2
0
1
2
3
3
2


Within Scotland
0
0
0
1
1
0


Elsewhere
0
1
2
2
2
2


B1
1
0
0
0
2
2


Within Scotland
0
0
0
0
2
0


Elsewhere
1
0
0
0
0
2


A4
0
0
0
1
0
0


Within Scotland
0
0
0
1
0
0



  Table (b) Outward Loans

  

 
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


Total Number of Staff
57*
25
16
19
10
13


Senior Civil Service
4
1
1
1
0
1


Within Scotland
3
1
1
1
0
0


Elsewhere
1
0
0
0
0
1


C3
1
0
0
1
0
0


Within Scotland
1
0
0
1
0
0


C2
3
3
0
1
0
1


Within Scotland
3
2
0
0
0
0


Elsewhere
0
1
0
1
0
1


C1
9
8
3
3
2
2


Within Scotland
4
6
1
0
0
0


Elsewhere
5
2
2
3
2
2


B3
7
4
1
8
0
1


Within Scotland
7
2
0
6
0
0


Elsewhere
0
2
1
2
0
1


B2
8
4
8
3
3
7


Within Scotland
6
3
2
2
1
1


Elsewhere
2
1
6
1
2
6


B1
14
2
2
1
2
0


Within Scotland
13
2
0
1
1
0


Elsewhere
1
0
2
0
1
0


A4
2
0
0
0
0
0


Within Scotland
2
0
0
0
0
0


A3
9
3
1
1
3
1


Within Scotland
8
1
0
0
0
1


Elsewhere
1
2
1
1
3
0



  *This figure includes Executive staff seconded to the Scottish Parliament when it was first established.

  Table (c) Inward Transfers

  

 
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


Total Number of Staff
89
45
67
71
71
16


Senior Civil Service
8
1
4
0
1
0


C2
3
0
1
0
1
0


C1
9
9
10
7
8
7


B3
1
0
3
5
1
0


B2
21
5
19
15
13
0


B1
33
15
23
22
37
8


A3
4
13
4
13
8
0


A2
3
0
0
3
1
0


A1
7
2
3
6
1
1



  Table (d) Outward Transfers

  

 
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


Total Number of Staff
32
25
27
52
53
64


Senior Civil Service
0
0
1
0
1
1


C3
0
0
1
1
0
1


C2
0
0
1
0
0
0


C1
2
1
2
5
8
3


B3
2
2
3
3
3
8


B2
5
1
5
12
9
14


B1
1
4
2
2
4
7


A4
1
0
0
5
2
1


A3
14
11
8
15
20
20


A2
1
2
1
3
0
1


A1
6
4
3
6
6
8

Communities

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive To ask the Scottish Executive what spending will be cut to realise the real terms reduction in spending in the Communities budget, as referred to in Table 0.02 of Building a Better Scotland Spending Proposals 2005-2008.

Malcolm Chisholm: The departmental spending limit for the Communities portfolio rises by 3% per annum in real terms over the spending review period. Table 0.2, on Total Managed Expenditure includes, in addition, Annually Managed Expenditure, mainly in relation to the Supporting People Programme.

Education

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports recommendation Rec(2001)15 of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers to member states on history teaching in twenty-first-century Europe which states that history teaching in a democratic Europe should occupy a vital place in the training of responsible and active citizens and in the developing of respect for all kinds of differences.

Peter Peacock: Yes. Advice to education authorities and schools recognises the important role of history in developing active citizenship within a democratic society.

Education

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the teaching of history as a core subject in primary and secondary schools.

Peter Peacock: Current guidance to education authorities and schools advises that over the years P1 to P7 and again during S1 to S2 pupils should experience a broad range of historical studies. From S3 to S6 pupils can make negotiated choices within the curricular framework. History offers a range of certificated courses within that framework.

Education

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new history graduates there were in each year since 1999 and, of these, how many commenced a qualification for teaching in a Scottish school.

Mr Jim Wallace: The following table shows the number of first degree history graduates from higher education institutions in Scotland between 1998-99 and 2002-03. These figures include graduates who studied history as a single subject as well as those who studied history with other subjects.

  Graduates from Scottish HEIs with History Recorded as a Subject of Qualification

  

1998-99
1,146


1999-2000
979


2000-01
1,015


2001-02
1,050


2002-03
1,223



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

  The Scottish Executive does not hold data which could track how many of the above graduates commenced a qualification for teaching. However, the following table shows the numbers of entrants to secondary teacher training courses at higher education institutions in Scotland, where history was recorded as their main subject.

  Entrants to Secondary Teacher Training Where History1 is Recorded as Main Subject

  

1998-99
79


1999-2000
96


2000-01
106


2001-02
93


2002-03
85



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

  Note 1. Data are for the qualification by dominant subject group. A student may be trained to teach in more than one subject.

Employment

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it has implemented, either independently or in collaboration with Her Majesty’s Government, to enhance the opportunities of employment for people aged 55 and over.

Malcolm Chisholm: Having a job increases the economic wellbeing of individuals and their families. We continue to work with the UK Government to reach the many people who, for a range of reasons find themselves unemployed.

  We have established the all-age careers service offering a more comprehensive and informed careers service nationally whether for school leavers or people approaching retirement age.

  In Scotland, the Jobcentre Plus New Deal 50 Plus Programme offers a route back into employment for those aged 50 and over. Since its introduction in April 2000 to the end of March 2003, New Deal 50 plus has achieved 12,176 positive job outcomes in Scotland. Around 800 jobs were gained during January to March 2003.

  The Executive continues to support the UK Government's Age Positive campaign which encourages employers to have a mixed-age workforce that includes older and younger people and also helps employers to prepare for legislation in October 2006 to outlaw age discrimination in employment and vocational training.

Health

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it has in the ethical approval of clinical procedures.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive requires NHS boards to have in place clinical governance arrangements to oversee all aspects of local decisions about clinical procedures.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) MRI and (b) CT scanners there are, broken down by NHS board area and expressed also per head of population.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information available is shown in the table:

  Table 1. Number of (a) MRI and b) CT Scanners and Rate Per 100,000 Population by NHS Board for Year Ending December 2003

  

NHS Board
Scanners
Rate Per 100,000 Population


MRI
CT
MRI
CT


Argyll and Clyde
1
4
0.24
0.96


Ayrshire and Arran
2
2
0.54
0.54


Borders
1
1
0.92
0.92


Dumfries and Galloway
0
1
0.00
0.68


Fife
2
2
0.57
0.57


Forth Valley
1
2
0.36
0.72


Grampian
3
3
0.57
0.57


Greater Glasgow
5
10
0.58
1.15


Highland
1
2
0.48
0.96


Lanarkshire
3
3
0.54
0.54


Lothian
6
6
0.77
0.77


Orkney
0
0
0.00
0.00


Shetland
0
1
0.00
4.57


Tayside
4
4
1.03
1.03


Western Isles
0
1
0.00
3.83


Jubilee Hospital
1
1
-
-


Nuffield Hospital
1
0
-
-


Murrayfield Hospital
1
0
-
-


Ross Hall
1
0
-
-


Scotland
33
43
0.65
0.85



  Source: NHS Supplies.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS sites have facilities to provide nuclear medicine, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the number of NHS sites that have facilities to provide nuclear medicine is shown in the table.

  

NHS Board
 


Ayrshire and Arran
2


Borders
1


Fife
1


Forth Valley
2


Grampian
1


Greater Glasgow
5


Highland
1


Lanarkshire
1


Lothian
4


Tayside
1


Scotland
18



  Source: NHS Boards, October 2004.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) whole-time-equivalent radiologists and (b) radiologists are trained to administer nuclear medicine, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the number of radiologists within "Clinical Radiology" and "Nuclear Medicine" is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website, under the Workforce Statistics section, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

  Information on the numbers of consultants is published in Table B8.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS patients have received treatment with nuclear medicine in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Nuclear medicine is used primarily for diagnostic procedures. A much smaller number of patients receive treatment using nuclear medicine. Information on the number of attendances at nuclear medicine departments is shown in the table. This covers attendances only where patients were seen by a nuclear medicine technologist.

  NHSScotland – Attendances at Nuclear Medicine Departments; by Location of Department (NHS Board Area): Years Ended 31 March 2000–04

  

NHS Board
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004P


Ayrshire and Arran
3,470
3,765
3,812
3,893
3,928


Fife
1,661
1,638
1,609
1,664
1,627


Forth Valley
1,790
1,249
1,040
1,143
824


Grampian
7,174
9,647
11,803
12,298
12,403


Greater Glasgow
18,452
19,693
19,646
19,969
20,793


Lanarkshire
1,671
1,614
1,063*
1,707
1,635


Lothian
2,185
2,367
1,821
1,853
1,746


Tayside
8,463
8,336
8,018
7,884
7,898


Scotland
44,866
48,309
48,812
50,391
50,854



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  PProvisional.

  Note: *Information may be under-recorded.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why there was a delay in appointing a chairperson to the Scottish Health Council from October 2003, as referred to in A New Public Involvement Structure for NHSScotland.

Mr Andy Kerr: The consultation paper A New Public Involvement Structure for NHSScotland did propose that the Chair of the Scottish Health Council would be appointed by October. However, Mr Chisholm decided that the arrangements for the establishment of the Scottish Health Council should await the passage of the then NHS Reform Bill and announced this at the Scottish Association of Health Council’s annual conference in September 2003. The bill received Royal Assent in July 2004, by which time the process to appoint a Chair for the Scottish Health Council had begun.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of (a) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and (b) other forms of Staphylococcus aureus there have been in the last five years for which records are available.

Mr Andy Kerr: A national mandatory hospital infection surveillance system was introduced in 2001 to monitor MRSA blood infections. The surveillance is operated by Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) and it produces quarterly reports. These reports show that from January 2001 to June 2004 there were 3,042 episodes of MRSA bacteraemia and 4,106 episodes of MSSA bacteraemia. The total number of episodes of all Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia for this period is 7,148.

  Episodes of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteraemia Between January 2001 and June 2004

  

Period
MRSA
MSSA


2001
885
1,033


2002
938
1,214


2003
755
1,259


To June 2004
464
600


Total
3,942
4,106

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the present timetable and cost are for the completion of the refurbishment of Parliament House, Edinburgh.

Cathy Jamieson: We currently expect to complete phase one of five of the redevelopment of Parliament House by 2007. We will review the plans for future phases before going ahead, but to complete all phases as we would now schedule them would take 13 to 14 years from now at a projected cost of £133.6 million in the 2nd quarter of this calendar year 2004 prices.

Land

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is confident that land ownership issues in respect of the land at the Blindwells Development Site in East Lothian will be resolved and that the area will be developable.

Malcolm Chisholm: Land ownership issues in respect of the Blindwells site are a matter for the East Lothian Council.

Local Government Finance

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) revenue and (b) capital support will be provided to local authorities under the prudential borrowing scheme.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Prudential Code for capital finance in Local Authorities (CIPFA), introduced in April 2004, enables authorities to determine their own level of capital expenditure according to what they consider to be affordable, sustainable and prudent.

  Prudential borrowing may form one element of the capital investment plans by local authorities, which, as a whole, must adhere to the indicators set out in the CIPFA Prudential Code.

  Prudential borrowing is additional to borrowing supported by the Scottish Executive and, as such, is self-funded by local authorities. It therefore is additional to two types of support for local authority capital expenditure from the Scottish Executive:

  (a) revenue support for supported borrowing. This takes the form of loan charge support, for interest charges and redemption fees, totalling £916/926/966/978 million for 2004-05 to 2007-08.

  (b) capital grants for specific areas of expenditure. These total some £354/442/423/458 million for 2004-05 to 2007-08.

NHS Hospitals

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the minimum age requirement is for each geriatric ward within an acute hospital where such an age requirement exists, broken down by acute hospital.

Mr Andy Kerr: Local NHS hospital management is responsible for determining ward use and for ensuring provision of care appropriate to the needs of people of all ages. The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Services

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many public meetings have been held regarding the reorganisation of hospital services in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards are responsible for engaging with people in the areas they serve on proposals to reorganise hospital services. It is for the boards to consider the most appropriate ways of doing this, including the role that public meetings might play in consulting and involving people. Information on the number of public meetings held since 1999 is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to increase the number of (a) pre-registration house officer, (b) senior house officer, (c) specialist registrar and (d) consultant posts.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards are statutory bodies set up under the NHS (Scotland) Act 1978 to discharge ministers’ responsibilities for providing a comprehensive and integrated health service.

  A power of guidance is implicit and the Health Department sets policy direction, aims and performance targets for the NHS in Scotland.

  Ultimately, under section 2(5) of the 1978 act ministers have a power of direction over NHS boards, although it is currently not considered necessary to use this power to increase the number of medical posts.

NHS Waiting Times

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for patients whose priority is classed as urgent rather than routine, broken down by speciality.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of prisoners was incarcerated for a period of less than six months in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information is given in tables 21 and 25 of Prison Statistics Scotland, 2003 published by the Scottish Executive in August 2004, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 33610).

Prisoner Escorts

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-2726 by Cathy Jamieson on 17 June 2004, what criteria it will use to decide whether Reliance is ready to provide a consistent satisfactory service as set out in the contract.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service seek Statements of Assurance from partner agencies as to their readiness and in conjunction with rigorous assessment of Reliance’s readiness, make the decision whether they are ready to rollout to further phases.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proceeding to appoint a preferred bidder in any PPP scheme on the basis of one, two or three competitive bids (a) is within the regulations governing PPP schemes, (b) is within the guidance it has issued on PPP schemes and (c) achieves best value.

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it gives to local authorities in relation to the minimum number of competitive bids required before selecting a preferred bidder for any PPP scheme.

Mr Tom McCabe: Guidance on appointing a preferred bidder in a PPP scheme is contained in the Treasury Taskforce Technical Note No. 4 How to appoint and work with a preferred bidder (Bib. number 20724) which the Executive expects public sector bodies to follow. PPPs, like all other public contracts, must be awarded in accordance with EU public procurement rules and it is for each procuring authority to take legal advice to ensure that it remains within these rules.

  PPPs tend to follow the "negotiated procedure" procurement route, which usually means selecting no more than three interested parties with whom to conduct the negotiation. That is generally narrowed down to a single "preferred bidder" after bid proposals have been evaluated and at least one round of negotiations conducted. In some market and project circumstances there may be fewer than three interested parties. It is for the procuring authority in each case to take full professional advice in weighing up whether value for money can still be achieved in such circumstances. It is a condition of Executive funding for PPPs that the final business case (submitted shortly before contract signature at the end of procurement) must demonstrate that value for money has been obtained in the procurement.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice Renfrewshire Council (a) sought from and (b) was given by the Executive with regard to EU procurement law before 2 September 2004, following any advice from the council’s specialist PPP legal advisers arising from the proposed change in scope of the Renfrewshire Schools PPP scheme.

Mr Tom McCabe: It is the responsibility of Renfrewshire Council, as the procuring body for their schools Public Private Partnership project and after having taken appropriate legal advice, to ensure that EU procurement law is adhered to.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what approaches have been made by Renfrewshire Council arising from the authority’s proposal to remove 12 schools from the Renfrewshire Schools PPP scheme and to seek refurbishment of these schools via (a) the prudential borrowing regime, (b) additional borrowing consent or (c) any other appropriate method of finance and what the outcomes were of any such approaches.

Mr Tom McCabe: It is entirely the responsibility of Renfrewshire Council to determine capital expenditure on school buildings within what they can afford and using the most appropriate funding method, including the prudential regime.

Public Private Partnerships

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the percentage of the specific grants figure given in table 5.01 of Building a Better Scotland Spending Proposals 2005-2008 which relates to the estimated drawdown of school PPP payments for each of the years in the spending proposals.

Peter Peacock: Table 3.05 of The Scottish Executive: Draft Budget 2005-06 sets out the spending plans in support of PPP.

Public Private Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is confident that the use of PPP and PFI in the procurement of public services is compatible with the aim of "managing public sector resources more effectively", as referred to in Framework for Economic Development in Scotland and reiterated in Building a Better Scotland Spending Proposals 2005-2008, and what research it has carried out to support this point of view.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive will consider whatever investment method represents the best approach given particular circumstances. A mixed economy approach is adopted in which conventional capital investment and Public Private Partnerships routes are available to all public sector bodies. What is important is that all appropriate routes are appraised and that the selected path represents the best approach for the taxpayer.

  The track record of PPPs is well known as supported by several reports published by independent bodies, including audit bodies.

Public Private Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role Partnerships UK will have in improving co-ordination with the private sector in the capital investment plan, as referred to in Building a Better Scotland Spending Proposals 2005-2008.

Mr Tom McCabe: Partnerships UK provides a permanent and sustainable centre of expertise on Public Private Partnerships and is involved with the Scottish Executive in developing and expanding its PPP programme.

  The Scottish Executive is improving communication with the private sector and the capital investment plan is an example of improved co-ordination between the public and private sectors in terms of construction and project delivery.

Public Sector Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time-equivalent staff there have been in (a) each department and (b) each of its agencies in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The full-time equivalent of permanent staff employed in each department, agency and associated department is set out in the following tables, In the past five years, the definition of the core Scottish Executive (Scottish Office) has changed with movements of responsibilities into and out of the Office/Executive. The figures shown in the tables have been backdated as far as possible for comparison purposes.

  The main changes to note are HM Inspectorate of Education became an agency in 2001, resulting in 150 staff transferring from the core Education Department. The Food Standards Agency was created in 2001 and assumed responsibility in Scotland from the core Environment and Rural Affairs Department (40 staff). Communities Scotland became an agency in 2001 (380 staff) and in 2002 a new agency, Accountant in Bankruptcy (80 staff) was created. In 2003 approx 180 staff in Transport Group moved from the Development Department to become part of the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department.

  Number of Full-Time-Equivalent Staff in the Scottish Executive in (a) Each Department and (b) each of its Agencies and Associated Departments in Each Year Since 1999 (Backdated to Reflect Current Structure)

  Table (a)

  

 
1 April


Scottish Office/Executive Core Depts
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


Total
3,366.7
3,634.3
3,823.5
4,122.6
4,332.6
4,411


Office of the Permanent Secretary* 
694.2
740.1
754.7
736.9
811.5
822.2


Development 
243.3
275.8
288.1
304.3
308.4
312.4


Education 
199.4
214.6
225.9
261.2
268.5
275.4


Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning 
424.6
446.3
466.1
507.5
518.4
517.2


Environment and Rural Affairs 
907.1
926.5
1,014.6
1,074.1
1,086.1
1,086.2


Finance and Central Services 
337.2
396.6
392.9
503.5
556.1
569


Health 
274.5
308
337.3
374.8
382.9
396


Justice 
161.9
168.7
183.5
199.1
227.2
253.4


Legal and Parliamentary Services 
124.5
157.7
160.4
161.2
173.5
179.2


Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
1,065.8
1,117.1
1,162.9
1,251.7
1,377.7
1,428.5



  Notes: *Previously Corporate Services including Ministerial Group and Centrally Managed Staff

  Table (b)

  

Agencies and Associated Departments
1 April


1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


Accountant in Bankruptcy 
82
78
81.3
86.9
80.3
65.3


Fisheries Research Service 
256.5
254.9
275.3
305
325.7
329.3


HMI Education 
148.8
143.5
152.4
160.6
150.2
166


Student Awards Agency for Scotland 
126.8
122.8
136.3
137.2
130.2
128.1


Scottish Agricultural Science Agency 
114.3
128.4
130.7
138.8
134.9
137.4


Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency 
274.9
270.5
257
259.5
259.2
265.5


Scottish Public Pensions Agency 
139.5
156.3
169.5
162.3
232.4
218.3


Communities Scotland 
417.5
414
428
386
382.9
419.8


Historic Scotland 
680
690
644.4
671.9
721.2
715.3


Scottish Prison Service 
4,820
4,698
4,475.5
4,439.9
4,489.2
4,346.4


Scottish Court Service 
830
841
868
941.9
941.1
987.6


General Register Office for Scotland 
214.4
234.3
233.4
230.1
213.6
205.5


National Archive of Scotland 
114.2
120.8
122.4
132.3
147.2
146.9


 Registers of Scotland 
1,130
1,280
1,260
1,270.7
1,338.5
1,361

Rail Network

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that Network Rail should be required to seek planning permission for the erection of microwave radio masts; whether it will define "permitted development" in terms of planning law, and whether it will take any action to change planning law in order to require permission for such masts to be sought.

Johann Lamont: I refer the member to the answer to S2W-10263 on 16 September 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Renewable Energy

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of electricity used by buildings in each of its departments and agencies has come from renewable sources in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: Figures for individual buildings are not available, however since 1999 supplies of electricity have been governed by an overarching contract put in place by the Executive’s procurement staff. This contract covers all core Executive departments and buildings in Scotland, the majority of our Executive Agencies and a number of non-departmental public bodies. The current contract is used by 34 different public sector organisations and covers 770 sites across Scotland.

  From July 1999 to July 2000 it is estimated that between eight and 10% of electricity supplied under the Executive’s contract was from renewable sources. This figure was based on the proportion of the supplier’s output which was from renewable sources. In July 2000 a new contract was awarded following competition. This contract provided for 100% of the Executive’s electricity to come from new renewable sources. When the Climate Change Levy (CCL) became effective, in April 2001, 100% of our supplies under the contract were certified as exempt.

  Following a further competition a new contract was awarded in August 2003. Due to growth in the number of organisations and sites covered by this new contract it was only possible to secure 80% of our supplies from CCL exempt new renewable sources under this contact. However, the remaining 20% comes from non-CCL exempt renewable sources (i.e. large scale hydro-electric). The current contract, including options for renewal, may extend to 2006.

Scottish Executive Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff work on the responsibilities carried by each minister in its cabinet and what the budget is for each area of ministerial responsibility.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive’s departmental structure does not map across exactly to ministers’ portfolio responsibilities but details of the staffing numbers and administration costs budgets for each department are provided in the following tables.

  Full-Time Equivalent Permanent Staff in Scottish Executive Core Departments at 1 October 2004

  

Development 
320


Education 
302


Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning 
538


Environment and Rural Affairs 
1,104


Finance and Central Services 
474


Health 
391


Justice 
262


Legal and Parliamentary Services 
186


Office of the Permanent Secretary*
920


Total
4,497



  Notes: *Includes Centrally Managed Staff (e.g. salaried staff who are on long term sickness leave, fast stream generalist staff on probation etc).

  Directly Allocated Administration Costs for 2004-05

  These costs are primarily staffing and associated costs, such as travel and subsistence and training.

  

 
£000


Development 
12,556


Education 
11,975


Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning 
20,767


Environment and Rural Affairs 
36,289


Finance and Central Services 
18,536


Health 
15,098


Justice 
10,474


Legal and Parliamentary Services and Office of the Permanent Secretary (see note 1)
63,607


Capital and capital charges
28,342


Other (ICT projects and central budgets)
16,458


Total
234,102



  Note: 1. Includes accommodation, facilities and other centrally managed costs for all departments.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many school sports co-ordinators have had additional support needs training.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: From 1 April 2004, the school sports co-ordinator and active primary schools programmes merged and were extended as Active Schools began to be rolled out. The role of an Active School Co-ordinator is not to deliver activities to young people but to encourage and co-ordinate the provision of activities.

  In developing Active Schools, sport

  scotland is working in close partnership with all 32 local authorities and the health boards to develop Active School Implementation Plans for each local authority. Included in each plan is a commitment for all Active School personnel to receive disability awareness training. All staff who transferred from the previous programmes into Active Schools will have received this training by the end of March 2005. Active Schools personnel will not be expected to administer medication but will be aware of any specific medical needs for any young person taking part in an organised activity and ensure that these are catered for.

  In addition to disability awareness training, sport

  scotland, Scottish Disability Sport and the Youth Sport Trust are currently designing a specialist Disability Inclusion Module for Active School Co-ordinators.

  Active Schools promotes an ethos of inclusion and parity of opportunity for all school age young people and this is reinforced to every Active School Co-ordinator as part of their induction and through on-going management support.

Teachers

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new history teachers qualify each year from teacher training colleges.

Mr Jim Wallace: The following table shows the number of teacher training graduates from higher education institutions in Scotland, whose main subject was history, between 1998-99 and 2002-03.

  Secondary Teacher Graduates from Scotland where Main Subject Recorded as History1

  

1998-99
57


1999-2000
75


2000-01
70


2001-02
48


2002-03
55



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

  Note: 1 The data are for the qualification by dominant subject group. A graduate may be trained to teach in more than one subject.

Telecommunications

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Enterprise’s decision to proceed with Project ATLAS was supported by a business case and, if so, what proportion of the level of utilisation assumed in the business case for the telecommunications trading exchange and the link to London has been achieved to date.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of any concerns among Scottish-based telecommunications companies about Project ATLAS, steps will be taken to consult fully with the industry and ensure their support before embarking on a second procurement exercise for the business park network.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Enterprise has clearly defined what services it expects to be delivered under Project ATLAS’s business park network and the level of demand for those services and whether it has considered the impact of the network on Scottish-based operators who are already providing advanced broadband services to customers in such business parks.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive’s broadband strategy is facilitating the rollout and uptake of broadband technology across Scotland. Project ATLAS fits within this overall strategy but is led by Scottish Enterprise. Therefore, this is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.